I’m always photographing people, I always observe people when I’m traveling. Just looking at what a person has on is like looking at a piece of art to me. My parents are from the South, so I come from texture. I come from velvet at Christmas, seersucker and patent shoes at Easter, suede shoes in the fall.

Michelle Cole, Emmy-nominated costume designer. Currently she is the CD for the ABC television sitcom, Black-ish.

I want to hang out wherever Ms. Cole does! Where is she seeing these “piece of art” people?

This quote is from a Q&A with Ms. Cole from The Costume Designer: The Official Magazine of the Costume Designers Guild. The focus of the interview was contemporary costuming for television.

From the muslin prototype to the finished masterpiece, stitch by stitch, thought by thought, revelation by revelation. My characters would finally emerge.

Glenn Close, American film and stage actress.

Ms. Close was recently honored by the Costumer Designers Guild with the Spotlight Award.

This quote is from The Costume Designer, the official magazine of the Costumer Designers Guild.

It’s nice to see appreciation for costumers. Once, way back when I did costumes for community theater, a director said to me, “I don’t care if the actors go on stage naked.” That’s how little regard he had for the costumes in his show, which was always a puzzle to me. Really? Because the costumes set a visual tone not to mention help to create the characters. Oh well, at least his disinterest allowed me a lot of freedom and there was no pushback. No appreciation but no criticism. It could have been worse.

What I discovered between the research, artistry, and messages in all the costumes I designed for the many historical and imagined figures is my contribution to Afro-futurism. I am honored to receive this recognition from the Costumes Designers Guild and look forward to telling more stories which can change the world.

Ruth E. Carter, American costume designer.

This quote is from an article about Ms. Carter by Meera Manek in The Costume Designer (The Official Magazine of the Costume Designers Guild), winter 2019.

Ms. Carter recently received the Career Achievement Award from the Costume Designers Guild and she’s been nominated for an Oscar (her third nomination) for her work on Black Panther. In the business since the 1980s, Ms. Carter has worked on Amistad, Malcolm X, How Stella Got Her Groove Back, to name just a few. For Black Panther, Ms. Carter says that she found inspiration in her research on ancient African cultures. I like her use of accessories such as the bold jewelry and the marvelous hats worn by Angela Basset. who played Ramonda.

Best of luck to Ms. Carter and all the Oscar nominees this Sunday, February 24th.

Not a believer in idle hands, my grandmother presented me with a small sewing box when I was nine years old. She taught me rudimentary hand stitching, cross-stitch, embroidery, and how to darn holes in socks. Soon, I was making clothing for my dolls out of her old aprons. A year later, she announced we would move on to the sewing machine. I felt a thrill of adventure as she pulled down the hideaway ladder in the upstairs hallway and we climbed to the attic sewing room, complete with a large cutting table, bins of fabric and patterns, and nestled close to a dormer window, an old Singer sewing machine with a knee pedal. This room became my haven growing up. My grandmother was the first person to recognize my passion for clothing and design, and foster my creativity. I will always be grateful to her for teaching me how to sew.

Bonnie Nipar, Hollywood costume designer.

Ms. Nipar shared her story with the recent edition of The Costume Designer (the official magazine of the Costume Designers Guild, Local 892). Her work can be seen on television shows Grace Under Fire, Dharma & Greg, and recently Are You There, Chelsea?